Endings Aren't Meant To Be Happy
by UnderLilacSkyes
Summary: Emma tells Killian the truth.


**A/N- Hi guys! So apparently, I'm back. (Not that I ever really left) So, I have a ton of theories for season six, and some very severe denial about Emma's fate. I've seen fics that explore this, but I wanted to put my two cents in as well. Let's see how my theories hold up.**

 _End: noun, a point, line, or limitation that indicates the full extent, degree, etc., of something; limit; bounds._

Emma Swan had a theory. It wasn't a particularly nice one, in fact, it was quite terrifying, but it was a theory, nonetheless. She lay awake, staring up at her bedroom ceiling, one of the only areas of the house to not get an extreme makeover after her stint as the Dark One, and subsequent trip to the underworld. She was almost _glad_ for her sleeplessness, as it meant that she could not be haunted by her subconscious thoughts.

Yes, she supposed she'd settle for the waking ones.

Regina Mills was going to be the death of her, plain and simple. She couldn't help but find the situation ironic, in retrospect, that the woman who had ruined her life, and had once wanted her dead, the woman who had since become one of her closest friends, was to be her down fall. Now, she wasn't quite sure which version Regina she would face: the queen, or the mayor, but it mattered not. The end was the end, after all.

At first, she didn't know what to think of the visions. It could have been anyone under that cloak, any villain, whether previously known or not, from the Land of Untold Stories could have been behind it. Hell, it could have been Gold, for all she knew. Dark Ones _did_ seem to have a penchant for long, billowy cloaks and the like. But those ideas had been blown out of the water once she actually met the queen.

She only seemed to want two things at this point: revenge against Emma's parents, and to turn Regina back into a monster. That meant one of two things, either the evil queen was going to go after her family, or she was going to make Regina do it for her. Emma couldn't even think of closing her eyes and trying to sleep, because the nightmares were sure to come, and she wasn't sure which scenario would terrify her more.

Her eyes drifted to the digital clock beside her, causing her to groan internally. _2:17 A.M._ Killian snored softly beside her, and she was instantly jealous. Outside of the next terrifying villain to face, which, let's face it, was just another Tuesday in Storybrooke, he had nothing to worry about. He could sleep easy, knowing that the heroes were going to win this one. And, maybe they would, but she wasn't going to be a part of it.

Flinching at the thought, her mind seemed to make itself up, and she slid from the bed, throwing on yesterday's clothes and a jacket as she went. If she lied there any longer, she was sure to go crazy. A glance toward the bed told her that Killian was still asleep, and she hoped that it would stay that way. No use waking him up too. She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek and fled the room, not realizing that he was already half awake.

Emma had no idea where she was going. There wasn't really any place _to_ go. The streets were completely dark, and devoid of all life. No one in town had thought there was much value in the phrase _Open Twenty-Four Hours_ , and as such, most establishments closed up before ten. For a brief moment, she wondered if she was being stupid. The Evil Queen could have been just about anywhere and yet here she was, walking down the street in the dark without her gun. She doubted her magic alone would be enough to save her if it came to a fight.

Then again, she was going to die anyway, right?

After maybe a half hour of walking around aimlessly, she found herself at the absolute last place she expected to go. It was true that she hadn't really been paying attention to her surroundings as she moved, but _here_ of all places? It was like she wanted to feel like crap. The lake was just as beautiful, just as terrifying as it had been the last time she'd been there, when Killian was dead, and she couldn't find it in herself to let him go. It was fitting, she decided, that in the face of her end, she should go to the place where he met his. After all, they were about to go back to where they started, with one of them dead, and neither of them happy.

A few tears fell as she thought about the memories that surrounded the place. "Stop being an idiot," she admonished, remembering the exact feeling of watching him hit the ground. How could she do that to him? How could she put him through that? He deserved so much better than her. "It's not the end of the world, just the end of-" _me_. She couldn't help but remember how it had felt like the end of the world when she lost Killian. Shit, this was going to _crush_ him, wasn't it? The loss of one love had turned him into a vengeful villain. What would happen to him at the loss of his _True Love_?

"I am a terrible person, aren't I?" She asked nobody, a scowl twisting onto her lips. This wasn't like before, when no one cared that she came to school with bruises sometimes, that she was in prison, pregnant and alone, that a bail jumper had broken her ribs and given her a black eye. Now, she had people who cared about her, parents, a son, a true love ordained by the gods, for crying out loud. She had peopled who loved her, and counted on her, people who were going to be hurt so badly when they lost her.

"That's bloody well not true, Swan, and you know it."

Startled, Emma spun around on her heal, finding Killian less than ten feet from her, still in a tee shirt and sleep pants.

All was silent for a moment as she thought about what she was going to do, what she could say to make this all just go away. She figured that there must have been a piece of her, something of vital importance that made talking about the hard things, the things that made you want to hide your head and run away, utterly impossible.

" _Please_ ," she began, searching his deep blue eyes, which had been illuminated in the moonlight. "Please, can we just not talk about this?"

He took a step towards her tentatively, as if trying not to scare her away. He knew that pushing his Swan almost never yielded favorable results, but it had been _days,_ and she had yet to speak to him. This whole thing had been going on for far too long. "I've tried to give you space, love, to let you work things out on your own, but you can't keep pulling away from everyone like this."

 _Yes_ she could; she had to. There was no point in telling them about something that they couldn't change, nor was there a reason to let them think that everything would be okay. It would only set them up to be even more disappointed later. "I am not going to talk about this, Killian."

She tried to remember what Doctor Hopper had said, about being happy while she had the chance. It looked like she longer did.

"So you're just going to live like this forever then? Freezing up and pulling away from everyone? I thought we were past that."

The look in his eyes made Emma want to cry. They _were_ past that. Or, at least, they had been, a few weeks ago.

Something inside of her broke down, and the tears fell quickly and unrestrained. It made Killian's heart ache for her. All he wanted was to put a smile back on her face.

"Don't make me do this," Emma whimpered. "Don't make me say it."

And then, he was in front of her, wrapping his arms around her so tightly that it hurt. She wasn't going to say anything though. They both needed this more than they were willing to admit. "I'm here for you, love, whatever it is, I'm here for you."

"I don't want to hurt you," she whispered, hiding her face away in his chest.

He pulled away slightly, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Well, you're hurting yourself now, and I won't stand for it." His words, fierce as they were meant to be, were soft and strangely, comforting. "You can trust me."

She sighed, terrified of what she was about to do, of what would happen after she said the terrible words. "I know. I know I can. It's just- it's not about trust. We've been through so much. _You've_ been through so much. Don't we deserve to be happy? After everything? Where's our happy ending?"

He was silent for a moment, contemplative. "Endings are overrated. Besides, they aren't supposed to be happy. That's the point."

She raised a brow at him, unsure of what he was getting at.

"Endings are there to remind us to enjoy the present. They're dark and dreary and sometimes, they scare us half to death. You need to focus on the present, love, the time we do have."

Emma thought about that for a moment. While this was the last conversation she wanted to be having, she thought that maybe, he was right. Everyone was right. Maybe her end was near, but if she wasn't going to live everyday to the fullest, then she could die tomorrow, and it wouldn't make a difference.

Besides, he deserved to know the truth.

She took a deep breath, and met his eyes again. "I'm going to die."

Killian was taken aback. Of all the things that she could have said, he was not expecting _that_. He couldn't breathe. Perhaps he had heard her wrong. Perhaps this was a terrible nightmare, and he was about to wake up beside her in their new bed.

"C- Come again?" He asked, hoping, wishing, that he was missing something - that this was not as it seemed. "Emma?"

She felt like she was watching his heart break, but she couldn't stop now. She had to come clean. "Ever since we had gone to investigate the airship, I've been… seeing things." Emma paused, suddenly unsure of how to continue. She could do this. She had to. "And, in these… visions, I die. I'm fighting someone - I think it's the queen - and they kill me."

Killian's eyes found hers again, and the pain in his eyes was palpable. This was just what she was afraid of.

"You don't know that they mean anything." His voice was low, and frightened. Emma got the feeling that he was trying to convince himself along with her.

Emma shook her head, wishing that it was true. "The other night, when I ran off, I found an oracle from the Land of Untold Stories in the woods. She said that that was my fate. That there was no escaping it. I – I'm so sorry, Killian. I don't think there's anything we can do."

A strange look passed over Killian's face, and he stayed quiet for what felt like forever, to Emma at least.

"Don't you see it, love?" he asked her, suddenly looking very far from sad.

Emma shook her head, confused.

"It all started at that air ship, and then someone who had literally fallen into town on board it is the one to tell you all of this? Hyde wanted the town, and it seems he would do whatever he could to get it, even try to distract you with visions of your own demise."

Now, it was Emma's turn to be taken aback. "You think she made it up?"

"What did you do, after she told you that?" He asked, confidence lacing his tone.

"I… went to talk to Hyde," Emma told him. She supposed it _was_ possible that Hyde had lied to her in order to distract her, especially if his goal was to take over the town. He could do that much easier if the one protecting it was preoccupied.

He gave a look. "And, have you seen them, now that Hyde is… no more?"

"Well, not yet…" Emma started, almost afraid to believe it. "Regina told me to take out the queen, if it comes to it. What if I go after her, and she... you know?"

Killian's face darkened a bit. "You've been fighting against the Evil Queen for years, love. She's not going to get you now. You've stopped Regina before, and you can do it again. I'm not giving up on you, Swan. Don't give up on yourself."

Emma stepped back into Killian's embrace, and held him tightly for a moment. How is it that always knew just what she needed, just what to say? He stood by her in all things, and that was more than she could say about anybody else. In that moment, she felt like she would be completely lost without him. "I love you, Killian."

He smiled into her hair. "And I, you, Swan, and I, you." There was a pause before, "What say you we go home, love? I can't imagine it's anywhere close to dawn yet."

As if to answer for her, a huge yawn escaped her mouth, causing Killian to chuckle. "It's a date, Pirate."


End file.
